Roll-forming processes are typically used to manufacture formed components such as structural beams, siding, ductile structures, and/or any other component having a formed profile. A roll-forming process may be implemented using a roll-former machine or system having a sequenced plurality of forming passes. Each of the forming passes typically includes a roller assembly configured to contour, shape, bend, and/or fold a moving material. The number of forming passes required to form a component may be dictated by the material characteristics of the material (e.g., the material strength) and the profile complexity of the formed component (e.g., the number of bends, folds, etc. needed to produce a finished component). The moving material may be, for example, a metallic strip material that is unwound from coiled strip stock and moved through the roll-former system. As the material moves through the roll-former system, each of the forming passes performs a bending and/or folding operation on the material to progressively shape the material to achieve a desired profile. For example, the profile of a C-shaped component (well-known in the art as a CEE) has the appearance of the letter C when looking at one end of the C-shaped component.
A roll-forming process may be based on post-cut process or in a pre-cut process. A post-cut process involves unwinding a strip material from a coil and feeding the strip material through a roll-former system. In some cases, the strip material is first leveled, flattened, or otherwise conditioned prior to entering the roll-former system. A plurality of bending and/or folding operations is performed on the strip material as it moves through the forming passes to produce a formed material having a desired profile. The formed material is then removed from the last forming pass and moved through a cutting or shearing press that cuts the formed material into sections having a predetermined length. In a pre-cut process, the strip material is passed through a cutting or shearing press prior to entering the roll-former system. In this manner, pieces of formed material having a pre-determined length are individually processed by the roll-former system.
Formed materials or formed components are typically manufactured to comply with tolerance values associated with bend angles, lengths of material, distances from one bend to another, etc. In particular, bend angles that deviate from a desired angle are often associated with an amount of flare. In general, flare may be manifested in formed components as a structure that is bent inward or outward from a desired nominal position. For example, a roll-former system or portion thereof may be configured to perform one 90 degree bend on a material to produce an L-shaped profile. The roll-former system may be configured to form the L-shaped profile so that the walls of the formed component having an L-shaped profile form a 90 degree angle within, for example, a +/−5 degree flare tolerance value. If the first structure and the second structure do not form a 90 degree angle, the formed component is said to have flare. A formed component may be flared-in, flared-out, or both such as, for example, flared-in at a leading end and flared-out at a trailing end. Flare-in is typically a result of overforming and flare-out is typically a result of underforming. Additionally or alternatively, flare may be a result of material characteristics such as, for example, a spring or yield strength characteristic of a material. For example, a material may spring out (i.e., tend to return to its shape prior to a forming operation) after it exits a roll-forming pass and/or a roll-former system.
Flare is often an undesirable component characteristic and can be problematic in many applications. For example, formed materials are often used in structural applications such as building construction. In some cases, strength and structural support calculations are performed based on the expected strength of a formed material. In these cases, tolerance values such as flare tolerance values are very important because they are associated with an expected strength of the formed materials. In other cases, controlling flare tolerance values is important when interconnecting (e.g., welding) one formed component to another formed component. Interconnecting formed components typically requires that the ends of the formed components are substantially similar or identical.
Traditional methods for controlling flare typically require a significant amount of setup time to control flare uniformly throughout a formed component. Some roll-former systems are not capable of controlling flare uniformly throughout a formed component. In general, one known method for controlling flare involves changing positions of roller assemblies of forming passes, moving a material through the forming passes, measuring the flare of the formed components, and re-adjusting the positions of the roller assemblies based on the measured flare. This process is repeated until the roller assemblies are set in a position that reduces the flare to be within a specified flare tolerance. The roller assemblies then remain in a fixed position (i.e., static setting) throughout the operation of the roll-former system. Another known method for controlling flare involves adding a straightener fixture or flare fixture in line with the forming passes of a roll-former system. The straightener fixture or flare fixture includes one or more idle rollers that are set to a fixed position and apply pressure to flared surfaces of a formed component to reduce flare. Unfortunately, static or fixed flare control methods, such as those described above, allow flare to vary along the length of the formed components.